


Ambrosia

by LazyBaker



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Rating will go up, Underage Kissing, monster!hannibal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-04-30 14:49:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5167865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyBaker/pseuds/LazyBaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will was thirteen when he met the monster under his bed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Will had never had his own bedroom. The new house was old and smelled musty, the neighbors nosy enough to wave and introduce themselves--Mr. and Mrs. Roberts--forcing Will to socialize, but at the end of the hall was a little room meant for him with his bed and a cardboard box of all his things. 

Will had his own room and he couldn’t have been happier. 

That night he didn’t unpack. His father, Henry, set up his bed and left the sheets in a pile for Will, before ruffling his hair and quickly pecking a kiss to the crown of his head. 

_I’ll be back late_ , Henry said, his voice already muffled by the front door. 

Will knew what that meant.

He ate a bowl of soggy oatmeal that was more sugar than oats. Brushed his teeth, needing to stand on the step stool to be able to see in the bathroom mirror and reach the sink faucet. 

Will opened the cardboard box in his room and found his night shirt, changing quickly. He left his clothes piled in a bare corner.  

And for the first time in Will’s life, he closed the door to his room. He smiled at the sharp click of metal meeting metal. This was a new and pleasant experience, one of the few he’d had recently. 

The moon was bright as he lied down, his room not dark or filled with shadows that would normally scare him. 

The house was quiet except for small creaks. _The house was settling_ , was what Henry had told him. Nothing to worry about or be frightened of. Will settled in, excited to sleep in his own room for the first time. 

A low hum filled the air, growing louder and louder, rattling Will’s chest. 

It was coming from underneath his bed.  

Will clutched his blankets. Fear bubbled inside him until his entire body felt chilled and the warmth he’d felt drained away. Despite this, he steeled himself. He opened his eyes. 

Will didn’t know what he was looking at. 

 _Monster_ , he thought. 

He stared at the foggy, smoke filled blur of the monster looking up at him as it crawled from under his bed. It's long black claws hooked into the blankets, digging in until Will could hear the sheet being torn. 

"I'm trying to sleep," He said to the monster. Somehow he knew the monster was looking up at him despite it not having any eyes that Will could see. No mouth to eat him and no teeth to bite. Claws that could rip his blankets, but seemed to sink through the mattress.  

One of those blankets was his favorite. Plaid and heavy enough to keep him warm even when the heater was broken mid-winter. 

He didn’t feel so scared anymore.  

“And you're ruining my blanket." 

The monster paused and its claws lifted slightly. Will tugged his blanket to wrap it around his body. 

"Goodnight," Will said firmly and in the best impersonation of Henry’s no-nonsense tone. Strict and unwilling to argue. It worked on Will every time.

The monster shifted in and out of focus, bright little sparks went off in the cloud of its body. 

Slowly the monster slipped back under the bed. Will waited, counted to three minutes and then looked over the edge and underneath. 

The monster had gone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](http://granpappy-winchester.tumblr.com/)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be extremely clear, later chapters will contain sexual-eroticism between kid!Will and monster!Hannibal and the rating will go up. Just to be very, very clear.

Will was prepared this time. 

He waited until he heard Henry close his bedroom door. Under the kitchen sink he found the emergency flashlight Henry always placed there when they moved. It was big and yellow. It flickered once before it emitted a bright stream of light.  

All day he had thought of nothing except seeing the monster more clearly and with Henry staying home tonight he'd have to be quiet.

Will paused in the kitchen, wondering if he should bring food. Dogs were easier to pet when he had something for them to eat. They liked meat the most. But the monster hadn't had a mouth, or maybe it did and Will hadn't been able to see it. The biology of monsters was not something Will knew a lot about. 

Will opened the refrigerator. There wasn't much, Henry still needed to go shopping, but there was a glass casserole dish half eaten that Mrs. Roberts had brought by after Will had come home from school. 

She had seemed tired when she had handed Will the dish, her voice lilting softly to appear happy. His hands had shook under the weight of it and being alone with this woman he hardly knew. He didn't look above the yellow flower belt she wore around her dress, afraid of what he'd see. 

She was nice, but there was something about her that hung unpleasantly around her making Will’s heart speed up in fear. 

As carefully and quietly as he could, Will picked a few pieces of chicken out of the casserole and onto a napkin, licking his fingers when he was done. Gently he placed the dish back inside and closed the refrigerator as quietly as possible. The rusted hinges squeaked, Will paused, waiting to hear Henry waking up, but nothing happened.  

Will closed his bedroom door and propped the flashlight up on the small table beside his bed, the flat base allowing it to stand, flicking it on. The room lit with a dim glow from the light bouncing from the ceiling, creating blue shadows. He'd be able to see the monster more clearly this time if it came. 

He was sure it would, though. 

He sat cross legged above his covers, the napkin bundled up and balancing on his night shirt as it stretched between his knees. Henry was snoring loudly, the thin walls doing nothing to muffle the sounds that were as familiar to Will as his own breathing. 

The room was still. The house creaked. Will held his breath without meaning to. 

The low buzzing started again, sending small tingles through his body. His hair stood on end. The flashlight flickered, but remained on. 

"Hello," Will said, whispering. His voice trembled. He grabbed his blanket and fisted it tightly, he was shaking. 

"Hello,” The monster whispered back. Will saw the antlers first as it grew bigger and bigger, shimmering into focus. 

Will didn’t know what the monster under his bed was supposed to look like. Henry had told him stories, animals with big mouths and sharp teeth that would eat ' _naughty boys who didn't do their homework_ '. Will never believed him. 

But he knew he should be more afraid and not trying to talk to it. 

_Him_. 

Will stared at him though he had no face, black smoke and little electric sparks seemed to go off and blur together, his claws sank into the blankets once again, but did not tear the fabric this time. His large antlers turned and shimmered in the low light of Will’s room as he peered over the bed. 

Will swallowed thickly, he held out the napkin and quickly dropped it on the bed in front of the monster. 

“I brought you food.” 

The monster dipped his head, seemingly sniffing it and prodded at the napkin until it opened. 

“A bird,” The monster said in a low mumble, picking up a piece between two of its largest claws. They had solidified now, appearing only slightly translucent.  

“It’s chicken from a casserole,” Will said. He had no idea if the monster would know what a casserole was, but he felt some inclination to explain himself. “I thought you might be hungry.” 

The monster was silent, and then a large slit through the black haze of its face appeared and opened wide to swallow the chicken one piece at a time. He didn’t seem to chew and Will didn’t see any teeth. When he was done, he looked at Will. 

“Thank you, you’re very kind.” 

Will scraped what courage he could, his hands shaking as he gripped his blanket. 

“What are you?” 

“I’m me,” He cocked his head, his left antler dipped, shivering and evaporating before appearing again. 

Will frowned, annoyed. 

“You dislike my answer when it’s the only one I have to give you. You’re disappointed.” 

“I want to know more about you.” 

“You’re not asking the right questions, little one.” 

“I’m not little.” 

“You are a very tiny human,” The monster said, voice becoming more grounded, more human as he talked. He sounded almost like Will’s father, Henry, now. _An adult_. But friendlier. “Little.”  

“I’m Will,” Will blushed and pointed to his chest. He was small for his age, all his classmates seemed to bulldoze over him. “Not ‘ _little_ ’.” 

With one long claw, the monster slowly pointed at himself, “I’m Hannibal.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](http://granpappy-winchester.tumblr.com/)


	3. Chapter 3

Will was wrapped up in three of his jackets and an old pair of gloves that he would have outgrown if they hadn’t been stretched out over the few years he’s had them. It was Saturday and nearing six in the morning, Henry sat next to him sipping a thermos of coffee. The old boat rocked smoothly with the small ripples of Lake Pontchartrain, lulling Will into a half-dazed state.

Fishing on the weekends if Henry didn't have to work was one of the few traditions Will and Henry had no matter where they moved. Henry would wake Will up before sunrise. He'd hand Will a piece of toast piled with peanut butter and usher him into the truck where Will would sleep until they arrived at whatever pier the boat was docked in. 

Will had slept deeply in the car, not waking once until Henry was shaking his shoulder. He stumbled out of the car, yawning wide until his eyes teared up. 

The past few nights he hadn’t slept much, staying awake to talk to Hannibal. Talking about all his thoughts and his day to someone who was genuinely interested was an entirely new experience. He’d never thought he had much to say before but he found words came easy when he was with Hannibal who looked at him, his hazy black tendrils twitching and floating in a way that showed he was focused entirely on Will. 

During the night he would ramble about school, about the engine parts Henry had given him to toy with, but mostly Will fixated on trying to find the right questions to ask in order to find out more about Hannibal. But he was clever, evading every question with one of his own and Will was still trying to learn the rules of the game.  

It was easy to spend his nights talking to him. He’d never had someone to connect to like this and it was thrilling and made him feel light. The constant anxiety that had him hunching his shoulders and hoping no one would look at him wasn’t there when he was with Hannibal. 

It was nice. Fun. And he liked having Hannibal’s attention.

The tiredness he felt during the day was worth the few hours of calm when he was with Hannibal. 

Will watched his line with only half an interest. It was still and his grip was slack. He tightened his hold, not wanting to hear Henry correct him. 

It was silent except for the breeze and the occasional sound of something breaking the surface of the water and Henry sipping his coffee. The lake was bare besides them and a few other boats in the distance. 

“I heard you talking last night,” Henry said. He set the thermos down. He didn’t look at Will and Will didn’t look at him, but he could feel the apprehension coming off of Henry. It wasn’t from concern, Will didn’t hold any expectation for that from Henry. Rather, it was from having to ask. “Was there someone in your room, Will?” 

He was using his parental tone. It wasn’t used often but when it was, Will felt a spike of something hit him in the chest. It was unpleasant and made his heart race. 

Will hadn’t told Henry about Hannibal, knowing it would sound like he was lying or seeing things. Another part of him was worried Henry might believe him. He didn’t want to share Hannibal. 

It was odd, though, for Henry to talk to him. If it wasn’t about fishing or what he wanted to eat, their conversations went dry fairly quickly. Henry wasn’t one to talk. 

“I wasn’t talking to anyone,” Will said quietly. He rarely lied to Henry. He hadn't had many occasions to do so. Strangely, there was no guilty feeling swelling in his stomach only the worry Henry would say something or ask more questions. 

Will held his breath. Going through what Henry could do, what punishment he’d be given if he was caught lying. If Henry would yell at him or simply pack up and leave. 

Both were terrifying and Will felt his resolve to lie wavering. 

But Henry didn’t say anything. There was a long pause between them where even the lake had stopped and stilled all the fish inside. 

“I’m going to be going up north for two days next week, there’s an engine I could use. They’re selling it for cheap,” Henry paused, eyes fixed on their lines, still and unmoving. “I asked Mrs. Roberts to check on you, keep an eye out and all.

"Keep the doors locked, don’t let no one inside.” Henry’s hard gaze fixed on Will. There were new wrinkles around his eyes and his beard had started to grow grey. Will swallowed thickly. It wasn’t the first time he’d been left alone for so long and he’d managed before. “And stay away from Eugene--Mr. Roberts. I don’t like him and I don’t want him near you, got it?” 

“Yes, daddy.” 

Henry nodded. His jaw clenched tightly, “Good.”  

Will thought for a moment there would be more, but this seemed to be the end of their talk. 

Henry continued sipping his coffee and staring out at their lines. Will relaxed a little more in his seat, stretching as the sun started to unthaw his cold limbs.  

He'd take a nap on the drive back and hopefully he'd be able to stay up later with Hannibal.

 

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://granpappy-winchester.tumblr.com/)


End file.
